# MOO vs. LPMUD, Pueblo, etc

Rob Turknett (rturknett@mail.utexas.edu)
Fri, 14 Jun 1996 07:22:45 PDT

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    >I was in the local bookstore last Friday night, and I was really
    >suprised to see an entire shelf devoted to Linux.  Not just a shelf
    >really, but an entire floor to ceiling bookcase, 6 feet high and 4
    >feet wide, with nothing but Linux books on it!  I think Linux is going
    >to be a *VERY* serious contender for the desktop and home market in
    >the near future, because it *IS* Unix, and it runs on the hardware
    >people already own, or can easily obtain, and the software is free:
    >you can download it off the net, or you can buy a book a CD-ROM for
    >$30.00 or so.  And you can *LEGALLY* give it to friends, etc.  If you
    >are a corporate user, one copy gives you all the software for 200 PCs
    >in your company.  Microsoft is going to have a real problem with that
    >in the near future...

    That's a nice fantasy, but let's face it, Linux is for geeks like us who
    have the patience to figure things out -- not for the mass market.
    Technically, Linux is a great network OS, but being technically good has
    very little to do with how popular it is among anyone besides ourselves.
    People using Macs are not willing to step ten years back in the development
    of user interface and deal with command lines and X-Windows. More
    importantly, there is no marketing machine pushing Linux down the throats of
    companies and home users. No CEO has ever even heard of Linux. Linux is and
    will remain the choice of techies, or "early-adopters," as they are called
    in the computer biz.

    I probably shouldn't have written this...I hope it doesn't spark a pointless
    debate. I would hate for this thread to turn into an OS argument, so let us
    exercise some restraint (or move this to another list).

    Rob